Dr. Toben Lafrancois

Dr. Toben Lafrancois is a broadly trained aquatic ecologist. He has a background in invertebrate taxonomy, food web ecology, aquatic invasive species and underwater photography. Toben has over 20 years of experience working with federal, state, and tribal partners on applied research that reaches across disciplinary, jurisdictional, and social boundaries. He specializes in safely leading research teams in challenging environments including scuba-based research diving. Toben loves to work with organisms from planktonic crustaceans up to sturgeon.

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Toben’s current research projects include partnering with the University of Minnesota and the National Park Service to survey native freshwater mussels across all contiguous 99 river miles of the Namekagon River. He is also wrapping up a ten-year study of zebra mussel populations in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore and surrounding shoals. The aim of this work is to provide local agencies with the information they need to slow, mitigate, and even remove zebra mussels to protect commercial fishing, tourism, and the trophic health of the system. Expanding and refining this work in the future is a top priority.

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Toben has founded several award-winning outdoor education programs. Most recently he’s been using underwater photography as a pathway to teach science but also rooting teenagers in immersive experiences that (re)connect them to cultural health and mental well-being while inspiring a life-long connection to our great waters. He also has expertise in logic, history, and philosophy of science that informs his approach to teaching, research design, and the function of science in society.

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Toben is a proud Badger who received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he double majored in Zoology and Philosophy. He went on to complete a master’s in Ecology and Entomology followed by a master’s in Philosophy at Colorado State. He holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Minnesota for a dissertation on taxonomic resolution in ecology.

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Toben has taught high school science at outdoor education camps and both science and philosophy at a range of institutions including Front Range Community College in Colorado, University of Minnesota and St. Olaf College in Minnesota, and Northland College in Wisconsin. Toben spent time working as an environmental consultant for multiple firms and was a research associate with the Science Museum of Minnesota. He currently works with Bayfield High School on the Zaaga’igan Ma’iinganag program and Northwest Passage with the Under the Surface program. He looks forward to serving our waters by doing research through the Burke Center and to leverage research opportunities with this exciting group in ways that best serve our communities and the waters we depend on.